June 14--Macon-Bibb County Fire Chief Marvin Riggins made an impassioned plea Thursday for residents without working smoke detectors to get one now.
"Do not delay," he said during a news conference at the department's headquarters after a woman and three children people died in a fire early Thursday in a duplex on Carmen Place.
"We found no evidence of working smoke detectors that could have alerted them," said Riggins. "All it takes is a couple of seconds for advance warning."
Riggins said residents in need of assistance getting a working smoke detector should call the fire department at 751-9180.
"We'll get them for you and install it," he said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
This year, three children who were home alone died in a house fire in the 1100 block of James Street in Macon.
Riggins said a smoke detector was found in that home, but it's unknown if it worked. "It's questionable whether or not it was working," he added.
"You usually can tell (if it was working after a fire)."
Copyright 2013 - The Macon Telegraph
